Being Harsh To Be A Friend
by The Muse of Deduction
Summary: For the "Lean on Me" Challenge


**A/N: This is for the "Lean On Me" challenge by mur xo. Enjoy!**

**Friendship pairing: James Potter and Sirius Black**

**. . . = Memory change/end**

_**Year/Time in memory**_

**. . .**

Sirius Black sat at a table in the Leaky Cauldron, sipping a glass of Firewhiskey. He had been here for about two minutes, just to find a place to think. His grey eyes scanned the area. The bar was relatively quiet.

The nineteen-year-old sighed and finished his drink, ordering another one. He grasped the glass and raised it to his lips, taking yet another sip, deep in thought.Sirius was thinking about a lot of things. It was a rare thing for Sirius Black to be thinking about his life in depth, but here he was, doing just that.

It was hard for anyone who met Sirius Black to think he had any problems. With his carefree attitude, confident demeanour, and his overall self, many people who met him thought he had the perfect life.

But they were all wrong.

Sirius Black's life was far from perfect. He laughed softly to himself. The only time he was truly happy in his childhood was his time at Hogwarts, away from his crazy family, with his best friends: Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, and James Potter. He smiled, remembering his first train ride, seeing the scarlet steam engine. That was the day he met his absolute best friend, his brother, the one that took him in when he ran away to escape: James.

James Potter and Sirius Black, the ringleaders of the Marauders, the pranksters, practically brothers. You would've never seen one without the other at Hogwarts. Not much had changed since then. You would think that they had the perfect friendship, but even they had their share of rough times.

**. . .**

_**Fifth Year: 1975**_

"James, I'm sorry!"

"I don't want to hear it Sirius!"

"I didn't think it would end up like this!"

Sirius Black was trying to talk to his once best friend, James Potter in their dorm. James was mad at him for the stupid prank he had pulled on Snape a couple days ago.

Sirius had told Snape, on the day of a full moon, how to get past the Whomping Willow to see where they went once a month. He didn't think that Snape was stupid enough to actually listen. Moony was alone that night and if it wasn't for James, Snape would be dead.

But the result was much worse than that.

Snape knew that Remus was a werewolf. And now not one of the Marauders were speaking to Sirius, save for James, who only spoke to him coldly, or when he was shouting at him.

" You didn't think it would end up like this?" James laughed coldly, "When do you think Sirius? Do you have any idea what could've happened? Snape could've died! And Remus! I know you don't give a damn about Snape, but did you think of Remus? If he had killed Snape, he wouldn't be able to live with himself! He would get expelled! And now, Snape knows his secret, which he's been guarding for his whole life!"

Sirius winced slightly. He really didn't think about Remus. He was just so angry that he wasn't thinking straight.

"James, I really am sorry. I was just angry and I just started saying things an-"

"Save it" James cut across him, "I don't want to hear any of it"

And with that, James left the dorm, leaving Sirius alone to his thoughts.

_**Three weeks later**_

Sirius was completely lost. He didn't know what to do. The past three weeks had been the most miserable weeks of his life. Sure, Remus and Peter saw how sorry he was and forgave him. He had two of his friends back.

But James was still angry.

Sirius sat in the dorm on his bed, his head in his hands. He had lost all hope that James would forgive him. He heard the door open and shut as someone walked in and sat beside him. He thought it was Remus again and sighed.

"I can't talk to him Remus. He hates me, I know it"

To Sirius' surprise, when he looked up, he didn't see Remus, but instead saw the hazel eyes of James Potter.

"You're a git, you know that?" James said. Sirius was unsure of what to do.

"Look James, I am-"

"Forget it Sirius" James cut across. To Sirius' surprise, James gave him a smile. "I know you're deeply sorry about this whole thing, even the bits with Snape. I knew that two weeks ago, and I wanted to forgive you then too after seeing how miserable you were, but I was too bloody stubborn and wanted to teach you a lesson"

Sirius blinked in shock.

"So, you're telling me that you were going to forgive me two weeks ago, but didn't because you wanted to teach me a lesson?"

James nodded, grinning. "And what did you learn?"

"Well, I guess I learnt to think things through before I do them" Sirius said, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Yes!" James jumped up, grinning. Sirius grinned too.

"Do you know how hard it was not to forgive you?" James asked "Never mind. Let's go prank some Slytherins, or take a walk, or head to Three Broomsticks. I haven't done anything fun for three weeks!"

Sirius laughed. "You didn't do anything fun? I actually did my homework!"

James gasped. "What did Moony do to you?" He grabbed Sirius' shoulders and shook them "Come back to me Padfoot! Forget everything Moony taught you! Especially doing homework!"

The two of them laughed and walked out of both their dorm and the common room, planning to go to Three Broomsticks for a drink. The Gryffindors, like most of the school, were happy that the two finally made up. But no one was happier than Sirius than James. And even that was a maybe.

**. . .**

Sirius smiled at the memory. He truly was very sorry about the incident. After that, he was slightly more careful about the things he did that could be life threatening. He laughed to himself again. The bloody git didn't forgive him because he wanted to teach him a lesson. He expected Moony to do something like that, not Prongs.

Speaking of Prongs. . .

"Hey Padfoot. Mind if I sit?" James asked. Sirius grinned.

"Of course not Prongs"

James grinned and sat down and ordered a drink. Soon, the two best friends were talking and laughing, sipping their drinks like they did a couple years ago in Three Broomsticks.

"Why're you here Prongs?" Sirius asked, smiling. James shrugged.

"Well, I was looking for my best friend, and when I saw he wasn't at his flat, I came here. Why're you here Padfoot?" James asked, grinning. Sirius shrugged.

"I needed a place to think"

"What were you thinking about?" James asked his best friend of more than seven years.

"The incident" Sirius said simply. There was a silence between the two before Sirius whispered, "Sometimes being a good friend means being harsh" He smiled at the slightly confused James sitting in front of him. "Thanks for teaching me a lesson James. It was harsh, but you were just being a good friend"

"No" James said, grinning, "I was being the BEST friend"

The two laughed and talked, remembering good times. They were two halves of a whole.

Padfoot and Prongs. A friendship stronger than death. Brothers forever.

**. . .**

**So, how was it?**


End file.
